Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas Experience a Literary Renaissance

A cluster of recent books reexamines Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, reflecting renewed interest in their legacy. Deborah Levy's novel "My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein" (FSG, last month) follows a narrator struggling to write about Stein. Francesca Wade's biography "Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife" (Scribner, October 2024) won the Biographers International Organization award for best biography. Lana Lin's "The Autobiography of H. Lan Thao Lam" (Dorothy Project, October 2024) emulates Stein's style to chronicle her own life and relationship with artist H. Lan Thao Lam; it was longlisted for the 2025 National Book Award. Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain's "Bone Horn" (Soft Skull/Catapult, last month) is a queer detective story centered on a horn allegedly on Toklas's forehead, inspired by Picasso's claim. Wade's research at Yale's Beinecke Library used Leon Katz's unpublished interviews with Toklas. Scribner VP Kathryn Belden attributes the trend to appetite for stories about overlooked women. Dorothy publisher Danielle Dutton notes Stein's era of rapid change resonates today. Lin, who is Taiwanese American, aimed to insert Asian American presence into Stein's narrative. Bussey-Chamberlain published with Cipher Press (London) and Soft Skull. Catapult assistant editor Elizabeth Pankova says the book foregrounds "the mystery that is the past." Wade believes Stein would love her renewed relevance.